First wave of new ‘Open Skies’ transatlantic routes begins this week

Travelers who visit Europe frequently will see a wave of new and revised routes and schedules across the Atlantic starting this week, because the new Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and European Union takes effect. In the airport-by-airport summary below, you’ll notice a number of new services into London Heathrow, including some that formerly flew into Gatwick.


ATLANTA (ATL). Effective March 29, Delta will begin one daily roundtrip between Atlanta and London Heathrow.

DALLAS/FT. WORTH (DFW). American Airlines on March 29 will shift one of its two daily DFW-London flights from London Gatwick to London Heathrow -- and on April 13, it will shift the second daily DFW-London flight to Heathrow as well. On March 30, KLM will begin daily non-stops between DFW and Amsterdam. Also on March 30, British Airways will move its daily DFW-London Gatwick flight to London Heathrow instead.

DENVER (DEN). United Airlines will launch new daily non-stops March 30 between Denver and London Heathrow.

DETROIT (DTW). British Airways plans to suspend its existing Detroit-London Heathrow flights effective March 30.

HOUSTON BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL (IAH). Continental will start twice-daily service March 29 from Houston to London Heathrow. On March 30, British Airways’ two daily Houston-London flights will shift from Gatwick to London Heathrow.

LOS ANGELES (LAX). Air France will begin daily non-stops March 30 between LAX and London Heathrow. The fights will be code-shared with Delta. On March 27, Qantas will add a sixth weekly flight between LAX and Brisbane, followed by a seventh on April 1.

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (MSP). Northwest Airlines will kick off new daily non-stops between MSP and London Heathrow on March 29.

NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). Delta is adding twice-daily service beginning March 29 between JFK and London Heathrow.

NEWARK (EWR). Continental will begin twice-daily flights March 29 between its Newark hub and London Heathrow.

PHILADELPHIA (PHL). US Airways plans a March 29 debut for daily service between Philadelphia and London Heathrow.


PORTLAND, Ore. (PDX). Northwest Airlines set a March 29 debut for new daily non-stops between Portland and Amsterdam, using two-class A330-200s.

RALEIGH/DURHAM (RDU). American Airlines on March 28 will shift its RDU-London flights from London Gatwick to London Heathrow.

SEATTLE (SEA). On March 30, Lufthansa will introduce daily non-stops between Seattle and Frankfurt.